The International Service for Human Rights and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre published a report titled ‘Business frameworks and actions to support human rights defenders: a retrospective and recommendations’ (July 2025). This report takes stock of the frameworks, tools, and advocacy developed at the international level over the last decade to protect and support human rights defenders (HRDs) in the context of business activities and operations.
Human Level’s Take:
- Companies and human rights defenders are connected. How? Defenders shine the light on human rights-related risks and impacts that are connected to businesses’ operations and supply chains. They are also key defenders of civic freedoms, including freedom of expression, association, assembly, and public participation
- How does this benefit companies? By listening to defenders’ insights, testimonies, and documentation, companies gain a clearer understanding of human rights risks across their value chains. In turn, when civic freedoms are protected, businesses benefit from more predictable and secure operating conditions
- Specific groups of HRDs face particular and additional risks due to certain characteristics and local and national contexts. For instance, women HRDs face gendered risks shaped by women’s roles in societies and gendered and sexual violence. Indigenous HRDs face increasing and extreme pressures as their lands are sought for the extraction of minerals required for the green transition. Indeed, up to 30% of total attacks on defenders are perpetrated against Indigenous defenders
- So, what can companies do? The report recommends that companies take various measures, including: 1) adopting and implementing zero-tolerance policies against attacks on HRDs throughout operations, supply chains, and business relationships; 2) integrate risks to HRDs, including particular risks faced by women, LGBTIQ+ and Indigenous defenders, into human rights due diligence; 3) respect Indigenous rights, including their right to self-determination and free, prior, and informed consent; 4) provide grievance mechanisms that are safe, accessible and culturally appropriate; 5) refrain from supporting limits on civic freedoms or using and engaging in judicial harassment and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs); 6) engaging with defenders through safe processes; and 7) mobilising and coordinating action with other companies through industry associations and multistakeholder initiatives to address adverse risks and impacts to defenders
Some key takeaways:
- The current situation: Human rights defenders, which include environmental and land defenders, play a critical role in raising concerns about business-related human rights risks and impacts by providing insights, testimony and documentation. Due to this, HRDs are often targeted, where they face intimidation, surveillance physical attacks, legal and judicial harassment including strategic lawsuits against public participation (‘SLAPP’ suits), bogus criminal complaints and even killings. In addition, many HRDs face particular and additional risks due to certain characteristics, and local and national contexts. For instance, women HRDs face gendered risks shaped by entrenched stereotypes of women’s roles in societies, gendered and sexual violence, and attacks in the private sphere and against their families. Indigenous defenders face extreme pressures as their lands are increasingly sought after for the extraction of minerals needed for the green transition. This heightens the threat to their rights to self-determination, their lands, territories and cultures. Up to 30% of attacks on defenders are perpetrated against Indigenous defenders. At the same time, the erosion of democracy and rule of law globally are negatively impacting defenders’ civic freedoms, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association - making their work both more vital and more dangerous. The erosion of the rule of law and accountability increases legal, operational, and reputational risks for businesses. When human rights defenders can operate safely, companies are more likely to benefit from stable and predictable environments.
- Paths to overcome obstacles to support defenders and civic space: One obstacle is companies’ perception that defenders are antagonists and ‘troublemakers’, which is common where there is a legacy of conflict and distrust between companies and defenders. The report recommends that companies can be aware of the alarming increase in stigmatisation and criminalisation of defenders and its impact. For instance, defenders are regularly subjected to defamation, smear campaigns, and labels such as public enemies, terrorists or foreign agents. Companies can also acknowledge that protests may be disruptive without being violent, and that taking part in social movements is a legitimate form of exercise of civil and political rights. In addition, companies do not automatically have to agree with a defender’s position on an issue to engage in good faith. Addressing disagreements can be the most important reason to engage. Another obstacle is the legacy of distrust that can exist between companies and defenders where the latter, including their communities, have previously been exposed to threats or attacks and have felt disrespected or unheard. These dynamics are complex and sensitive, which can make reaching immediate solutions difficult. The report recommends that companies take steps to address defenders’ safety concerns such as offering secure channels of communication, offering women-led and women-only consultations, and respecting FPIC (free, prior and informed consent) protocols. To overcome defenders’ concerns that engagement with companies is futile, companies can consider taking active and sustained efforts to demonstrate to defenders that they are actively remedying their existing human rights impacts, preventing potential future adverse ones, and responding to concerns. If defenders are unwilling or unable to engage, companies can consult with civil society organisations and other reliable intermediaries and organisations, including national human rights institutions, that can help companies understand defenders’ concerns and the risks they may face. Furthermore, companies can consider maintaining an open-door policy to defenders to engage if and when they indicate such a willingness.
- So, what can companies do? The report recommends that companies (and industry associations): 1) publicly recognise that defenders have a right to defend human rights and are essential allies in assisting businesses to adhere to their responsibilities under the UNGPs; 2) adopt new or strengthen existing or established company-wide policy committing to zero tolerance for violence and attacks on human rights defenders in their supply chains and throughout business activities, operations and relationships; 3) engage in and report on the results of human rights and environmental due diligence that integrates a gender perspective; 4) integrate risks to human rights defenders, including differentiated risks faced by women HRDs, LGBTIQ+ HRDs, and Indigenous HRDs, into policies and processes; 5) ensure that stakeholder engagement processes whereby defenders are consulted are safe for defenders; 6) acknowledge specific risks to and rights of Indigenous defenders and respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, grounded in their rights to self-determination and right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); 7) develop and implement principles for suppliers and other business partners establishing the company’s expectations regarding respect for the rights of defenders; 8) ensure that grievance mechanisms are safe, accessible and culturally appropriate for defenders, and that they take defender inputs into account whenever necessary and possible; 9) refrain from any lobbying, political spending, and other direct or indirect forms of political engagement to support limits on civic freedoms, or to weaken laws to hold companies accountable for human rights abuses and environmental destruction; 10) mobilise other companies through industry associations and multistakeholder initiatives to identify and diminish risks to defenders and when necessary to coordinate action to protect defenders at risk and civic freedoms under pressure; 11) refrain from using or threatening to use strategic litigations against public participation (SLAPPs) against defenders; and 12) engage home country diplomatic missions to discuss risks to and possible actions to support and protect defenders.
